Are you losing your memory or is it your lifestyle

Image courtesy of http://healthhub.brighamandwomens.org/

We all forget things to do from time-to-time. For some of us, memory issues affect us more than others. Whilst it is perfectly natural to forget to do things, it can be frustrating if it is something that occurs on a regular basis. Yes, there is a growing concern about the usefulness of our memory, especially as we get older.

Let's discuss what causes memory loss, and from there we can move onto what can be done to help with this condition.

Firstly, like with most things, your lifestyle, diet, habits and career will all play a part in your overall health, including how healthy your memory is. Having a stressful job combined with a poor diet, lack of exercise and limited exposure to daylight will all contribute to long-term memory loss.

Many medical problems can cause memory loss or other dementia-like symptoms. Most of these conditions can be treated. Your doctor can screen you for conditions that cause reversible memory impairment.

Possible causes of reversible memory loss include [1]:

• Medications. Certain medications or a combination of medications can cause forgetfulness or confusion.
  
• Minor head trauma or injury. A head injury from a fall or accident, even if you don't lose consciousness, can cause memory problems.
  
• Emotional disorders. Stress, anxiety or depression can cause forgetfulness, confusion, difficulty concentrating and other problems that disrupt daily activities.
  
• Alcoholism. Chronic alcoholism can seriously impair mental abilities. Alcohol can also cause memory loss by interacting with medications.
  
• Vitamin B-12 deficiency. Vitamin B-12 helps maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells. A vitamin B-12 deficiency, common in older adults, can cause memory problems.
  
• Hypothyroidism. An underactive thyroid gland (hypothyroidism) can result in forgetfulness and other thinking problems.
  
• Brain diseases. A tumor or infection in the brain can cause memory problems or other dementia-like symptoms.
  

Sleep apnea could also be a cause of memory loss. This common but treatable sleep disorder causes breathing to stop briefly and frequently throughout the night. It is linked to memory loss and dementia, according to Constantine Lyketsos, MD, director of the Memory and Alzheimer's Treatment Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine and professor and chair of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Bayview. You might have sleep apnea if you wake up with a headache and have daytime fatigue, or if your partner complains of loud snoring.

When not treated, sleep apnea affects spatial navigational memory, found a study published in The Journal of Neuroscience. This type of memory includes being able to remember directions or where you put things like your keys. The research suggests that deep sleep, also known as rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, plays an important role in memory.

One explanation is that for people with sleep apnea, oxygen delivery to the brain is interrupted several hundred times during the night, explains Dr. Lyketsos. “The brain is stressed, so people wake up,” he says. The injury sleep apnea causes can show up as a variety of memory loss symptoms, he adds [2].

Other causes of memory loss could be are not limited to the following:

• Hypoglycemia (low-blood sugar)
  
• Hypercalcemia (too much calcium)
  
• Lead poisoning
  
• Depression
  
• General lack of sleep
  

As can be seen, there are a number of things that can cause memory loss. It could be a combination of some of the things mentioned above or one of those things that is severe enough to cause the memory loss on its own.

I’m not going to discuss Dementia or Alzheimer's in this article, as they are very complex topics that will be discussed in future articles and given the time and research they deserve.

So now we know what are the main causes of repairable memory loss, what can we do to reverse the process and have our memory as sharp as possible? Lets us list below:

1. Eat right: The foods you eat and don't eat, play a crucial role in your memory. Fresh vegetables are essential, as are healthy fats and avoiding sugar and grain carbohydrates. For instance, curry, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and walnuts contain antioxidants and other compounds that protect your brain health and may even stimulate the production of new brain cells [3].
   
2. Have a brain workout: By the time you’ve reached adulthood, your brain has developed millions of neural pathways that help you process and recall information quickly, solve familiar problems, and execute familiar tasks with a minimum of mental effort. But if you always stick to these well-worn paths, you aren’t giving your brain the stimulation it needs to keep growing and developing. You have to shake things up from time to time! Memory, like muscular strength, requires you to “use it or lose it.” The more you work out your brain, the better you’ll be able to process and remember information. But not all activities are equal. The best brain exercises break your routine and challenge you to use and develop new brain pathways [4].
   
3. Do physical exercise: While mental exercise is important for brain health, that doesn’t mean you never need to break a sweat. Physical exercise helps your brain stay sharp. It increases oxygen to your brain and reduces the risk for disorders that lead to memory loss, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exercise also enhances the effects of helpful brain chemicals and reduces stress hormones. Perhaps most importantly, exercise plays an important role in neuroplasticity by boosting growth factors and stimulating new neuronal connections [4].
   
4. Stay hydrated: It isn’t just what you eat that affects your memory, it’s also what and how much you drink. Water might just be the best brain tonic. Your brain is 73% water and it takes only 2% dehydration to diminish your memory, attention, and other cognitive skills. To illustrate how easily this can happen, you can lose 10% of your body’s water after a strenuous physical workout. Mild dehydration causes measurable brain shrinkage with adverse effects on concentration, alertness, and short-term memory [5].
   
5. Drink alcohol moderately: Red wine has a reputation for being the healthiest alcoholic beverage. It’s a top source of resveratrol, a potent antioxidant isolated and sold as a memory supplement that protects against age-related mental decline. But it may surprise you that moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages in general — wine, beer, champagne or spirits, can positively impact memory. Drinking moderately throughout adulthood protects your memory later in life and significantly decreases your risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s. It seems that what you drink isn’t as important as how much you drink [5].
   
6. Write things down: This is an 8-by-10 notebook with a calendar that will help you plan the minutiae of your life. Fill it with your to-do lists for the day, week, and month. Your notebook can become a portable filing cabinet for phone numbers, addresses, birthdays, medical information, phone messages, inspirational thoughts, bridge-playing strategies -- you name it. Carry it with you, or carry a small notepad to jot down information that you later transfer into your notebook. The act of writing something down reinforces it in your memory. And make sure to look at your notebook several times a day [6].
   
7. Focus on attention: Attention is one of the major components of memory. In order for information to move from your short-term memory into your long-term memory, you need to actively attend to this information. Try to study in a place free of distractions such as television, music, and other diversions. Getting rid of distractions might be a challenge, especially if you are surrounded by boisterous roommates or noisy children. One thing you can do is to set aside a short period of time to be alone. Ask your roommates to give you some space or ask your partner to take the kids for an hour so you can focus on your work [7].
   
8. Read out loud: Research suggests that reading materials out loud significantly improves​ your memory of the material. Educators and psychologists have also discovered that having students actually teach new concepts to others enhances understanding and recall. You can use this approach in your own studies by teaching new concepts and information to a friend or study partner [7].
   
9. Get some sleep: Researchers have long known that sleep is important for memory and learning. Research has shown that taking a nap after you learn something new can actually help you learn faster and remember better. In fact, one study found that sleeping after learning something new actually leads to physical changes in the brain. Sleep-deprived mice experienced less dendritic growth following a learning task than well-rested mice. So the next time you're struggling to learn new information, consider getting a good night's sleep after you study [7].
   
10. Get still: “Meditation improves your concentration and focus, which benefits memory,” says Dharma Singh Khalsa, the medical director and the president of the Alzheimer’s Research & Prevention Foundation, in Tucson. In addition, meditation has been shown to reduce stress, which can do a number on memory. “When we’re under stress, our body and brain release hormones such as cortisol, adrenaline, and CRH [corticotropin-releasing hormone], which in short bursts can help us fight or flee danger,” says Tallie Z. Baram, a professor of neurological sciences at the University of California, Irvine. But when you’re stressed-out over long periods of time, these hormones change the structure of the hippocampus, destroying nerve endings involved in information flow. A study released last year showed that subjects who performed a 12-minute chanting meditation once a day for eight weeks saw marked improvement in their memory and increased blood flow in the areas of the brain used in a variety of memory tasks [8].
    

As can be seen from the list above, by making sensible food and lifestyle changes, you can improve your memory. By making the time and effort to look after your body now, it’ll serve you wonders in the future. Like with most things, consumption or use in moderation is always a sensible approach to undertake.

If you feel you could benefit from guidance on foods to help improve your memory and concentration or require general guidance on nutritional support and how to live a balanced lifestyle please contact me at habs@urbanplatehealth.com or visit my website by going to www.urbanplatehealth.com

References

1. Memory loss: When to seek help - https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/in-depth/memory-loss/art-20046326?pg=2
   
2. 5 Surprising Causes of Memory Loss - https://www.everydayhealth.com/news/5-surprising-causes-memory-loss/
   
3. 7 Tricks to Improve Your Memory - https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/04/24/memory-improvement-tricks.aspx
   
4. How to Improve Your Memory - https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/how-to-improve-your-memory.htm
   
5. 36 Proven Ways to Improve Your Memory - https://bebrainfit.com/improve-memory/
   
6. Tips for a better memory - https://www.webmd.com/balance/features/tips-for-better-memory
   
7. A Look at 11 Methods for Improving Your Memory - https://www.verywellmind.com/great-ways-to-improve-your-memory-2795356
   
8. How to Improve Your Memory - https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/memory/how-to-improve-memory
   

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